The Republicans proposed this Wednesday to Steve Scalise as a candidate to lead the United States House of Representatives, a position vacant since fellow conservative Kevin McCarthy was dismissed on October 3 following a motion against him presented by his own ranks.
Fighting for the position were Scalise, “number two” on the Republican bench, and Jim Jordanpresident of the Judicial Committee, whom he surpassed after an internal vote and closed doors by 113 votes against 99.
Scalise will still have to win final approval from the full House of Representatives, where Republicans have 221 seats and the Democrats with 212. To win the position he will need the approval of 217 congressmen, so he must gain the support of Jordan’s supporters.
That vote could take place this Wednesday and in the Democratic caucus he is presented again Hakeem Jeffries, who currently holds the position of minority leader and who last January, when McCarthy won, also tried.
Scalise, 58, a representative of the First District of Louisiana, He faces the challenge while undergoing treatment for blood cancer, a situation that some legislators had considered was working against him.